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Choose Your Championship Starters Wisely

Two weeks. That’s it. After (another) long, chaotic offseason, and five and a half months of action, two weeks is all that is left for those looking to secure gold. This isn’t June anymore and we can’t just casually shake off a blowup start from a starting pitcher, whether stud or streamer, consoling ourselves with thoughts of there being plenty of time to balance things back out. No, no, no – this is championship season, Indy baby, and one false step can send you plummeting out of contention like a grail-hunting nazi stepping on the wrong tile.

If you want to stack fantasy chips, you better stack your advantages as high as possible. Baseball is still going to occasionally baseball but all we can do is set ourselves up for success as much as we can.

Let’s get some trophies. Read the rest of this entry »


Bullpen Report: September 17, 2022

The 2022 version of the Bullpen Report includes five different sections, as well as the closer chart, which can be found at the bottom of the page.

We will always include a link to the full Closer Depth Chart at the bottom of the Bullpen Report each day. It’s also accessible from the RosterResource drop-down menu and from any RosterResource page. Please let us know what you think.

  1. Notable Workloads: Primary closers or valuable members of a closer committee who have been deemed unavailable or likely unavailable for the current day due to recent workload.
  2. Injury News
  3. Outlier Saves: Explanation for a non-closer earning a save during the previous day.
  4. Committee Clarity: Notes on a closer committee that clarify a pitcher’s standing in the group.
  5. Losing A Grip: Struggling closers who could be on the hot seat.

The “RosterResource” link will take you to the corresponding team’s RosterResource depth chart, which will give you a better picture of the full bullpen and results of the previous six days (pitch count, save, hold, win, loss, blown save).

Click HERE to view the full Closer Depth Chart.

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Lineup Analysis (9/16/22)

Note: All the lineups were based on games through Thursday. No Friday starts were considered. 

American League

Angels

• Catcher-qualified Matt Thaiss (.308/.444/.752 and 2 HR in 39 PA) has started in five of the last seven games.

Matt Duffy (.589 OPS) has started in 11 of the last 13 games.

Astros

Chas McCormick (.723 OPS) starts two games in center and then Mauricio Dubón (.584 OPS) starts one.

Athletics

• The only rosterable players are Ramón Laureano, Sean Murphy, and Seth Brown (when he’s facing a bunch of righties).

Blue Jays

Santiago Espinal, Cavan Biggio, and Whit Merrifield are splitting time at second base.

Guardians

• Nothing actionable.

Mariners

• Another lineup without any changes.

Sam Haggerty (.807 OPS, 5 HR, 12 SB, 157 PA) had a run of four straight starts but it coincides with Mitch Haniger getting hurt.

Orioles

Cedric Mullins (.812 OPS vs RHP, .554 OPS vs LHP) is still sitting against lefties. Jesús Aguilar starts instead by moving guys around the DH position.

Gunnar Henderson (.890 OPS, 1 HR, 1 SB) has started in 13 of the last 14 games.

Rangers

Josh Smith (.563 OPS) has been promoted and has started in five of the last seven games, four in left field.

Rays

Wander Franco has started in seven of eight games since coming off the IL while hitting .276/.276/.345 during that time.

Red Sox

Triston Casas (.579 OPS) and Christian Arroyo (.737 OPS) are splitting time at first base.

Connor Wong (.250/.321/.458, 1 HR in 29 PA) has started in five of the last 10 games at catcher.

Royals

• The bottom four spots are just several guys cycling through with no one getting enough time to fantasy relevant.

Tigers

• Such a mess. It is tough to find full-time hitters in this lineup. Harold Castro, Riley Greene, and Javier Báez are the only regulars.

Twins

Luis Arraez does not start against lefties (.686 OPS vs LHP, .846 OPS vs RHP).

Nick Gordon has started in 18 straight games and is hitting .271/.314/.396 in September.

Gio Urshela (.273/.322/.425, 12 HR, 1 SB) has started 24 straight games.

White Sox

AJ Pollock, Andrew Vaughn, Gavin Sheets, and Luis Robert are sharing four outfield spots.

Yankees

Oswaldo Cabrera (.523 OPS) has started nine of 10 games and has hit fifth for four straight games.

Marwin Gonzalez (.596 OPS) has started eight of nine games at first base with Anthony Rizzo on the IL.

National League

Braves

• With second baseman Ozzie Albies off the IL, Vaughn Grissom will need a position, especially with Ronald Acuña Jr. as the primary DH.

Eddie Rosario (.575 OPS) and Marcell Ozuna (.664 OPS) are splitting time in left field.

Brewers

Garrett Mitchell (.518 OPS) and Tyrone Taylor (.717 OPS) are splitting time in center field.

Kolten Wong (vs RHP) and Luis Urías (vs LHP) are in a second base platoon.

Jace Peterson (vs RHP) and Mike Brosseau (vs LHP) are in a third base platoon.

Cardinals

Lars Nootbaar (.778 OPS, 12 HR, 4 SB) has dropped down the lineup and only started in five of the last seven games.

Albert Pujols (.854 OPS, 18 HR) has started five straight games, all against righties.

Brendan Donovan (.771 OPS, 4 HR, 2 SB) has leadoff for six of the last seven games.

Cubs

• An absolute mess trying to find full-time batters.

Diamondbacks

Stone Garrett (1.030 OPS) is still only facing lefties while Corbin Carroll is just facing righties.

Josh Rojas (vs RHP) and Emmanuel Rivera (vs LHP) are in a third base platoon.

Dodgers

• Steady.

Giants

David Villar is no longer getting full-time at-bats with the promotion of Willie Calhoun. Calhoun is only facing righties.

Marlins

Jordan Groshans (.266/.364/.334, 3 HR, 3 SB in 412 AAA PA) has started three straight at third base.

Bryan De La Cruz (.214/.261/.359 with 9 HR and 3 SB in 283 PA) has started four straight in the outfield.

Mets

• Top prospect, Mark Vientos (.877 OPS with 24 HR in AAA) is only starting against lefties.

Luis Guillorme is back and might start cutting into Eduardo Escobar’s production.

Nationals

Alex Call (.236/.288/.455 with 3 HR and 1 SB in 59 PA) has started in seven of the last eight games.

CJ Abrams (.311/.311/.400 with 0 HR and 1 SB in September) has started in 11 of the last 12 games.

Padres

Brandon Drury is off the IL, so Wil Myers will likely get moved to the bench.

Phillies

Nick Maton (1.079 OPS and 5 HR in 63 PA) has started in four of the last five games. He might just be on the strong side of a platoon.

Pirates

• The two outfield slots and the DH are being filled by five players (Ben Gamel, Cal Mitchell, Jack Suwinski, Greg Allen, and Diego Castillo)

Reds

Aristides Aquino has started 11 straight games while hitting .311/.367/.756 with 5 HR in September.

• There are too many infield regulars with two of Jonathan India, Kyle Farmer, Donovan Solano, Spencer Steer, Jose Barrero, and Matt Reynolds needing to sit each game.

Rockies

Michael Toglia (.220/.278/.460, 2 HR) is the latest Rockie to get a nice run of starts (14 straight) but I’m sure that will end for no reason in the next week.

Alan Trejo (.265/.306/.456 and 3 HR) has started eight of the last nine games at shortstop.


The Sleeper and the Bust Episode: 1099 – 2023 Outlook for 2H Surging Hitters

9/16/22

The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is live. Support the show by subscribing to our Patreon!!

Follow us on Twitter

PATREON

2023 OUTLOOK FOR 2H STANDOUT HITTERS

As usual, don’t hesitate to tweet us or comment below with fantasy questions.

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Approximately 66 minutes of joyous analysis.


Roto Riteup: September 16, 2022

This was pretty cool:

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Starting Pitcher Chart – September 16th, 2022

Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

(Got a little DraftKings game going on Friday if you’re interested)

The chart will include their performance over the last five starts, their opponent’s wOBA versus the pitcher’s handedness, and then my start/sit recommendation for 10-team, 12-team, and 15-team (or more) leagues. These are general recommendations, and your league situation will carry more weight whether you are protecting ratios or chasing counting numbers. This is for standard 5×5 roto leagues. The thresholds for H2H starts are generally lower, especially in points leagues so I thought there would be more value focusing on roto.

Let’s go secure some titles!

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Starting Pitcher Chart – September 15th, 2022

D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports

The chart will include their performance over the last five starts, their opponent’s wOBA versus the pitcher’s handedness, and then my start/sit recommendation for 10-team, 12-team, and 15-team (or more) leagues. These are general recommendations, and your league situation will carry more weight whether you are protecting ratios or chasing counting numbers. This is for standard 5×5 roto leagues. The thresholds for H2H starts are generally lower, especially in points leagues so I thought there would be more value focusing on roto.

Let’s go secure some titles!

Read the rest of this entry »


Throwing Heat Week 18

Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Throwing Heat is coming down the stretch! I can’t believe there are just a few weeks left in the regular season! For those who didn’t read these articles last season, this weekly article focuses on pitchers who are pitching well and how they are doing it.

This article’s beauty is that it highlights all types of pitchers from the best in the league to pitchers who are barely rostered. If someone is on a hot streak they will be in this article. I will also tell you if the hot streak is legit or if it appears to be a facade. I hope you enjoy it!

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Roto Riteup: September 14, 2022

I don’t give fantasy football analysis anymore, but this seems solid:

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The Sleeper and the Bust Episode: 1098 – 2023 Outlook for 2H Breakout SPs

9/13/22

The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is live. Support the show by subscribing to our Patreon!!

Follow us on Twitter

PATREON

2H BREAKOUT SPs

Read the rest of this entry »